Formula 1 Racing

The Beginner Fan's Guide To Everything Formula 1

FERRARIUnquestionably the most famous team in Formula 1 and, arguably, in all of motorsports, Ferrari has comfortably amassed more constructors’ titles (16) than any other team. Ferrari entered the competition in 1950, the first season of the modern era, and the team’s first race win came the following year courtesy of Froilan Gonzalez. The legendary ItalianAlberto Ascari then won back-to-back drivers’ titles in 1951 and 1952. It wasn’t until 1961 that Ferrari won the first of its constructors’ titles, with American Phil Hill the dominant force behind the wheel. Since then, they have won at least one constructors’ title every decade, including an incredible run from 1999-2004 with Michael Schumacher behind the wheel. Kimi Räikkönen became the latest Ferrari World Champion in 2007, but with Fernando Alonso now leading the team, more titles are sure to come.

MCLARENThe third most successful team in F1 history, the McLaren team has earned no fewer than eight constructors’ titles since being founded by New Zealand F1 driver Bruce McLaren in 1963. McLaren himself secured his team’s first victory at Brands Hatch in 1968, and he followed it up with a victory at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. It wasn’t until 1974 that McLaren won the first of its nine constructors’ titles, with Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi also winning the drivers’ title. England’s James Hunt famously won the drivers’ title by a single point ahead of Niki Lauda in Japan two years later, but it was the 1980s that really saw McLaren shine, with notorious teammates Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna winning titles from 1988-91. All three of Senna’s titles were with McLaren. The team won its last constructors’ title in 1998, with Finn Mika Hakkinen taking the drivers’ title as well. McLaren’s current driver, Lewis Hamilton, won the drivers’ title in dramatic fashion in 2008.

LOTUSLotus is one of the most famous names in Formula 1. Colin Chapman was the man behind the success of Lotus’s early racing endeavors, and under his watch, Lotus secured 73 race victories and seven constructors’ titles. Many of the most famous names in the history of the sport have driven for Lotus, including Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Stirling Moss, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna and Nelson Piquet. Amids mounting debts, Lotus withdrew from the sport in 1991, and it wasn’t until the 2010 season that the name returned to F1 under the guise of "Team Lotus," following Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes’ acquirement of the rights to the name from then-owner David Hunt, who himself had assumed control of the name after the marque had already left motorsports. Later in 2010, Group Lotus and Genii Capital announced that they had joined forces to form Lotus Renault GP, meaning there were two different teams racing under the Lotus name in 2011. A court battle followed, and Lotus Renault GP were eventually given the rights to the name Lotus while Fernandes’ team was renamed Caterham. With Kimi Räikkönen now behind the wheel, Lotus F1 is once again mixing things up at the front of the F1 grid.